Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1887-10-17

more of these changes of the later years than
the northern part of Alabama, and the city
of Birmingham is the most notable example |
of them. /
Rev. G. L. Mana, president of Andrews |
college of Birmingham, Ala, is in this city |
for few months of rest and change, and a
talk with him on the industrial growth of |
his State is full of interest.
Fifteen years ago the site of Birmingham |
WAS simply valley land more or less run to |
waste. 1t was a portion of the old Jones |
valley, one of the richest and most fertile in /
the whole South before the war. The war
destroyed the old plantation system of farm !
ing, and since that time good deal of land |
has gone into disuse On the southeast of |
this valley are the Red Mountains, and on |
the northwest the Highlands, they are |
called. The Red Mountains are nearly one
solid mass of iron ore, and in the bottom |
and on the other side of the valley ore is |
found in quantities. Not only iron ore, but |
coal and limestone, the three neeessaries for |
smelling furnaces, are found in large quanti- |
ties. Often they are found in such close |
proximity that the same mine
PRODUCES TIE THREE MINERALS,
vein of ore, one of coal and one of lime
stone, being found in conjunction with
each other This combination makes it
possible to produce pig iron something like
four dollars per ton cheaper in Alabama
than in Pennsylvania. The proximity of
coal beds and ore beds has always given
England a greater advantage in the pros
| duction of iron and steel, and has made
high import duties on those products nec-
essary for the protection Of similar indus
| tries in the United States.
1t had been known to mineralogists for
years that there was iron in that section,
/ but it is to all intents modern discovery, SO
| far as the body of people are concerned.
Birmingham is located very nearly in the
| geographical center of the northern half of
| the State. It was founded by the Elyton
| Land company, which was composed of
| northern and southern capitalists. John w.
| Morris, the richest man in Alabama, was the
| backbone of the company, and DR.. J. NJ.
| Caldwell was also one of the prime movers.
| Elyton is small hamlet two miles from Bir-
mingham The land company first proposed
to locate its new city at Elyton, but were
| unable to secure the land which it desired,
and so went out two miles and laid out their
| city.
| The process of building city in the South
is much like that of the West. The land
company laid out its city, plated the land
into streets, building lots, ETC., and after
| building few furnaces and after beginning
| the work of smelling iron, public sale of
| lots was had. From that the town went on,
and when large enough a city charter was
| secured from the legislature and the city was
made. Among the names of
PIONEERS IN THE IRON INDUSTRY
are De Bar de Laben and Colonel w. j.
| OlOSS. LIZ bar O6 L&DeQ Du1lG Gno Mary
| Pratt furnace and the Alice furnace, and
Colonel Sloss built the Sloss furnace, all of
| them immense smelling furnaces. After
| this city began to grow and the iron furnaces
were in operation machine shops, rolling
mills, etc., followed rapidly and Birmingham
| is now city of varied iron industries The
| Improvements of civilization followed rapid
ly, and the city now has paved streets, forty
miles of street railway, electric lights, water
works. magnificent public buildings, schools,
churches and all the advantages of the most
advanced civilization of the day. All this
making city of &C, 1000 people, where fifteen
years ago all was simply unoocupied land.
| AS before stated the city is in what is
known the Old Jones Valley but it has
| grown up upon the slopes on both sides of
the valley. The Red mountains on the east
are continuation of the Lookout mountains
of Tennessee, while on the west are the Sam
mountains. The summer temperature is
from eighty to ninety degrees, but contin-
uous, beginning early and continuing late.
Last July when Worcester was enduring
daily Temperature of from ninety to one
hundred, in Birmingham it was about ten
| degrees less. But the long continuing heat
| is very eneTvating. The nights, however
are cool.
Birmingham is not the only place where
there has been great development. Armis-
ton, sixty miles east, is another iron mining
and iron working place at the foot of the
Blue mountains. 1t is four years old and has
8, 600 people, Mr.. Sap,uel Noble went to
Admission fourteen years ago with spade and
shovel and invested 500, 900 in land The
town was laid out beautifully before it was
opened to the public: Streets were built,
water introduced, the whole handsomely
planned and many fine houses built, when
the first public sale of lots was made four
years ago. To illustrate what kind of a
profit some of these land operations return it
may be mentioned that Mr.. Noble and his
or oil 80
remaining property inside the three-mile
circle of the city limits for So, 600, 0OO The
company now owns 60, 600 acres of
RICH MINING LANDS
outside of the city.
| Bessemer, twelve miles south of Birming-
nam, is another instance of modern growth
| The city derives its name from its principal
! industry, the making of Bessemer steel It
was founded by De Bar de Laben, and at the
first sale of lots, last July, 5000, 900 was real
} lied in five hours.
Just outside of Birmingham there is a
place where Thomas, the great Pennsylvania
iron king, has great iron furnace. He
came down through the region years ago
and bought {, 600 acres of mineral lands and
| about two years ago he built his furnace and
commenced the formation of town, a part
of which is inside the limits of Birmingham.
| He has also great stove foundry there the
fret one in the region.
Probably the whole of the present indus
| trial progress is in great measure due to
General Warren, federal general, who came
down through the region more than fifteen
| years ago and built the first iron furnace in
the section. His friends thought he was
crazy and would lose all his money, but the
outcome of his venture has been God-send
to Alabama. All industries have felt the
impetus of progress, and all down to farming
have increased wonderfully. Before the war
cotton and corn were the two staples, but
now "truck farming" as it is called, is an
important business, market for vegetables
and fruits having been created by the cities
and towns springing up on all sides.
The whole northern part of the State is
| exceedingly rich in minerals. The southern
part of the State has not been affected to
any great extent. That part of the State is
| rich in timber and in cotton lands
| Tallapoosa, Ga. is located only four miles
| from the Alabama line and on the same min
eral belt. The old saying that "what man
| has done, man can do is as true as ever
and the Tallapoosa Land, Mining and Manu-
| featuring company feel positive that with
| their superior location as regards health (be-
ing ], 200 feet above sea leveD and owning
both building lot property and mineral land
in great abundance they can do all and more
than others have before them The stock of
| the company is now selling at 50. so per share
| of So par value, and the probabilities are
| that should the land sale in Tallapoosa be as
successful as prospects now indicate there
| "ouAu De III Aore Block sold at less than 30,
| and perhaps none will be offered at any
price, as the money needed for the develop
ment of the property may all be realized from
sale of building lots.
Advice TO Mothers.
Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup for chill
dren teething is the prescription of one of
tn. best female nurses and physicians in the
United States, and has been used for forty
years with never failing success by millions
of mothers for their children. During the
process of teething its value is incalcuIable.